The dance style that became internationally popular through Van McCoy’s 1975 disco hit was the Hustle.
Van McCoy and the Soul City Symphony recorded “The Hustle,” an instrumental composition that became a worldwide dance and pop success. The track was inspired by a dance already being performed in New York clubs, and its title helped identify the organized partner-and-group steps associated with the craze.
The recording reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1975. Its success helped turn the Hustle from a local club phenomenon into a widely recognized symbol of the disco era. Unlike many disco hits, it had no lead vocal; the melody, strings, rhythm section, and orchestral arrangement carried the track.
The Hustle is sometimes confused with later party dances such as the Bump, the Bus Stop, or the Electric Slide. Those dances belong to the same broad period of social-dance culture, but the Van McCoy recording is specifically associated with the Hustle.